. The coral reefs of the tropical Pacific. Albatross (Steamer); Coral reefs and islands. 228 ALBATROSS" TROPICAL PACIFIC EXPEDITION. Charts of these groups; they will show more kinds "of excellent atolls " in these groups than he gives them credit for. Without entering into a discussion of the permanence of the Pacific Ocean, we need only state that the components of the great groups of atolls in the Pacific are generally separated by deep water, and that to bring up the bulk of the coral islands to the surface would be merely in- creasing slightly the size of the atoll or islan
. The coral reefs of the tropical Pacific. Albatross (Steamer); Coral reefs and islands. 228 ALBATROSS" TROPICAL PACIFIC EXPEDITION. Charts of these groups; they will show more kinds "of excellent atolls " in these groups than he gives them credit for. Without entering into a discussion of the permanence of the Pacific Ocean, we need only state that the components of the great groups of atolls in the Pacific are generally separated by deep water, and that to bring up the bulk of the coral islands to the surface would be merely in- creasing slightly the size of the atoll or island as it exists at present, and would in no way present a very considerable tract of land in the very middle of the Pacific Ocean, unless we bring up the bottom of the Pacific with it to a height of more than 2000 fathoms. We may even be justified if, in questions relating to the distribution of land in former ages, we are not carried away by speculations which have no more stable foundation than the ingenious sketching of continents over areas varying in depth from 2000 to 3000 fathoms. The statements of Professor Sollas that the " table moun- tain " of Chamisso which cov- ers the summit of Funafuti, is of a similar nature from base to summit, and that " all this is coral reef," is somewhat premature; its nature and structure will be better under- stood when we can speculate upon the data supplied by the final examination of the core now in the hands of Professor J. W. Judd. The results obtained thus far from an examination of the elevated coralliferous limestones of Christmas Island^ and of Mango^ lead to very different conclusions from those expected by. Professor Sollas. No one has, to my knowledge, called attention to the fact that the sound-. Nativk Hut, Funafuti. 1 A Monograph of Christmas Island, by Charles W. Andrews, Brit. Mus., 1900. ^ Notes on the Limestones and General Geology of the Fiji Islands, by E. C. Andrews, Bull. M. C. Z., XXXVIIL No. 1,
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